2026 Winner · Best in Class AwardsBest Affordable Housing Initiative

Fuse wins Best Affordable Housing Initiative at the Best in Class Awards 2026

Fuse has won Best Affordable Housing Initiative at the Best in Class Awards 2026 of The Class Foundation. The award was presented on 4 November 2026 in Amsterdam.

Five members of the Fuse team with the Best Affordable Housing Initiative trophy at the Best in Class Awards 2026 in Amsterdam, in front of The Class Foundation backdrop.
The Fuse team with the award in Amsterdam, 4 November 2026.
The award
Best Affordable Housing Initiative
Given by
The Class Foundation, a European non-profit for student housing
When and where
4 November 2026, Amsterdam
How it was chosen
One of five finalists; a jury together with a public vote

The Best in Class Awards are the yearly awards of The Class Foundation, a non-profit with more than 100 partners that works on better student housing across Europe. This year there were more than 70 finalists. The winners are chosen by a jury, which counts for 85 per cent, and a public vote, which counts for 15 per cent.

In its category, Fuse was a finalist next to the London School of Economics and Political Science, Upgrade Estate, and UQ Partnerships. Earlier winners of Best Affordable Housing Initiative are Erasmus+ in 2025, the Social Hub in 2024 and Resa in 2023.

"We make buildings worth more. Software runs the building, people run the community. That is why owners earn more and residents pay less," says Marco Nobel, founder of Fuse.

Five members of the Fuse team around a high table at the awards evening in Amsterdam.
The dinner hall of the Best in Class Awards 2026 in Amsterdam, long tables under a chandelier, a speaker on the stage.

About Fuse

Fuse rents furnished, managed rooms and studios to students and young professionals. It runs 33 locations in three cities: Riga, Budapest and Vienna.

As an operator, Fuse works with building owners, real estate developers and asset managers. It is building-agnostic, so there is no minimum size. Fuse runs anything from a single apartment to a whole building, including former offices and hotels. In Budapest, revenue per unit in a 51-unit building went up 50 per cent in the six months after Fuse took over.

Residents get a community from the day they land. It runs across the whole city, with run clubs, a padel league and events every week, so a building needs little common space.

The company is AI-native. One central team runs every city on Fuse's own software, and AI does the manual work in support, sales and finance.

Fuse is now expanding into Poland, the Czech Republic, Germany and the Netherlands.

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Source: The Class Foundation: Best in Class Awards 2026 winners